Page 18 in the construction zone on Txopie build will tell the story on this guy. Not good !
That thread was from August 2014.... And he said he was closing Fiero fantasy concepts, not that he was leaving and letting the partner run it, txopie was the owner. This thread is from Oct 2014 so someone is still taking on business... The op needs to give the name of the person he gave the money to not just the name of the business this would clear up any confusion as to who is doing the swap.
I've been talking to a guy named Caesar (Cesar?). Back in October he said he was still working with TXOPIE, which was why I assumed he knew what he was doing.
If that wasn't true, then I guess he's using TXOPIE's name to shenanigan money and cars from people?
[This message has been edited by BabyEating Dingo (edited 02-07-2015).]
I've been talking to a guy named Caesar (Cesar?). Back in October he said he was still working with TXOPIE, which was why I assumed he knew what he was doing.
If that wasn't true, then I guess he's using TXOPIE's name to shenanigan money and cars from people?
I guess my next question would be how did you get ahold of Cesar? Did you contact him through the web site?
I've been talking to a guy named Caesar (Cesar?). Back in October he said he was still working with TXOPIE, which was why I assumed he knew what he was doing.
If that wasn't true, then I guess he's using TXOPIE's name to shenanigan money and cars from people?
I'm sure he means well but may be in over his head. If he has the wrong trans then it ain't going to work. I found that a lot of mechanics won't read up or follow customers suggestions because they think they already know how to do it. Not saying this is what's going on cause I don't really know. My 3800 turbo installed failed because the installer did NOT follow my instructions. The 3.4PR swap is well documented. The 4t60 swap is well documented. If the mechanic read some of those guides then it will be an easy and successful job. I even print out the installation guides with full color pictures and some still won't follow the instructions. I try to make it a kit so it would be as straight forward as possible.
I would suggest to get them to just do the engine swap first and keep the existing Fiero trans or get the right 4t60 trans. Make a instruction guide and get that to him. Do your homework and give him all the needed info for a successful swap. It will even help you better understand what is needed and what they should be doing.
Please PM me...I used to be the silent partner in FieroFantasyConcepts until Caesar took me for quite a bit of money a few months backs and decided it was a bad investment to continue with him. Even though I pulled out almost half a year ago, he has continued to work on other Fieros I am hearing. Or at least collecting them and other peoples money. I am sorry to hear about your situation and would like to see if there is something I can do to assist.
I'm sure he means well but may be in over his head. If he has the wrong trans then it ain't going to work. I found that a lot of mechanics won't read up or follow customers suggestions because they think they already know how to do it.
TRUE. Too many "automotive technicians" think the customer is always an ass - and so IGNORE anything he says.
It took a glass shop 3 tries to install my Indy windshield properly because they WOULD NOT even look at the directions I printed from the Factory Service Manual.
They'd then throw away all the spacer blocks and wonder why the factory size molding didn't fit once they sunk the windshield down too deep or offside. Then it was "my fault" for wanting to use factory molding instead of their 1-inch wide rubber molding which they know covers up their mistakes.
[This message has been edited by fierosound (edited 02-07-2015).]
I will tell u first hand that this shop does very poor work and is ran by guys that have no business trying to work on Fieros. The only Fiero they have done was for Txopie and I have went back and had to correct most of it. There work is subpar and it's not worth paying for. I have examples I can list for days from what I found when working on TXOPIE'S car after they had it. A WARNING to all that reads do not use this shop...If ur car is here then u need to get it back now before they promise anything else or take any more of ur money. They r not CAPABLE of doing the work they said they can.
Again I am going to state this for the record. Yes I WAS a silent partner in FieroFantasyConcepts and responsible for the web design, but I am not in control of the website and no longer have access to it.
I personally lost a lot of $ on that investment in a very short amount time and hence why I dissolved the partnership. I publicly posted it on my thread and didn't try to hide it from anyone.
In order to assist the community and with no one else getting pulled into this nightmare via that website....I am contacting my attorney to legally see what I can do to have the site taken down, if anything.
Originally posted by TXOPIE: ........ in FieroFantasyConcepts and responsible for the web design.
Then since you designed it you have author rights on pics and logos .... contact the webhosting company and file for rights infringement Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html#512 that should get the webhost attention ... good luck ...
I vouch that YOU are a stand up good guy and a very honest person too... regards
Then since you designed it you have author rights on pics and logos .... contact the webhosting company and file for rights infringement Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html#512 that should get the webhost attention ... good luck ...
I vouch that YOU are a stand up good guy and a very honest person too... regards
This seems to be a recurring problem in the Fiero world where Zombie sites somehow continue to attract paying customers, but those customers have little to no hope of ever seeing a finished product.
It would be nice if we had a living breathing list of reputable Fiero vendors to warn people of these zombies that are no longer to be trusted.
This seems to be a recurring problem in the Fiero world where Zombie sites somehow continue to attract paying customers, but those customers have little to no hope of ever seeing a finished product.
It would be nice if we had a living breathing list of reputable Fiero vendors to warn people of these zombies that are no longer to be trusted.
Agreed. Too bad that wouldn't help newbies. They often find us only once they're in trouble.
Had a guy email me last week. He's standing IN A SHOP at 9:00am about to have his clutch changed and asking me how the "mechanics" can do this without having to drop the entire cradle. Of course, I didn't see his email until I got home after work at 5:30pm. Although I replied as soon as I could, his car was either done, or screwed up by then. I don't know which because he never replied back even though I spent 1/2 hour putting a very informative email together (obviously too late for him).
Had he contacted us BEFORE taking his car in, I could have told him WHO he should take it to (ie: someone who knows what they're doing).
Wasn't the 'shop' Opie's and built on his own land like 200 feet from his new house?
Well, I think he has a shop at his house but I think this Trident was a shop somewhere that he hooked up with. But, I`m sure if he feels he needs to respond he will.
My shop on my land, "The FieroCave"...is my personal space...Mr. Poe / MstangsBware (who is out here at least once a month) can verify that as well.
The shop in question is a shop at the following:
Trident Automotive & Restoration - Owner Caesar. 5532 Midway Road. Suite #2. Haltom City, TX 76117
I partnered with Caesar for a short amount of time (Silent partner), but we parted ways in early August of last year...which is clearly documented on my thread and was no secret. I have nothing to do with his business or business transactions.
I already reached out to BabyEating Dingo to see what I could do to assist, if anything.
Does it really matter whose land it is on? He has severed ties. The partnership didn't work out. Nothing about location will help resolve the issue. TXOPIE has offered to do what he can to help.
Edit: he beat me to it.
[This message has been edited by tshark (edited 02-10-2015).]
Unfortunately I don't think it's the end of the story as long as this Caesar character is ripping people off. Even though you severed ties with him, others that don't know that may drag your name through the mud. It's not fair, but that's what may happen.
Going full thread necromancer here in the hopes to save others some pain, and perhaps get a little help for mine.
Finally got my car back today, almost a full year later. To his credit, the car is running, and it seems to shift. But that's as far as the good parts go. The rear fascia on the car is pretty extensively damaged around the mounting tabs and doesn't attach on most of the left side any more. The wheel well liners on the rear of the car are completely gone - the remaining bits left appear as though he ripped them out with his hands. The e-brake cable isn't attached and it appears the brackets that were supposed to hold it in place were completely removed. The brackets on the frame of the car that the rear vents bolted to are completely gone, so the vents aren't held down by anything. The oil pressure gauge doesn't work, nor does it appear my temperature gauge or fuel gauge.
He obviously stole my mint condition upper intake and replaced it with a beaten, damaged, badly repainted one. It also appears he stole a number of new wires and hoses that I had installed, and replaced them with junkyard parts (to do what? save $20??). He was supposed to install a rebuilt 4T60 transmission - judging by the poor appearance of the transmission, I'm going to guess that he didn't. He didn't install the Rodney Dickman's aluminum engine mounts, since they're still in the box (thank God he didn't steal those too), so I'm guessing he reinstalled the engine on broken rubber mounts, likely junkyard parts as well. The vibration when the engine runs is horrific. I don't even want to start with the number of things that could be causing it.
I'll be putting up pictures of the destruction carried out on my car by this so-called "mechanic" for the schadenfreude of the Fiero community.
Obviously I'm going to sue him for the damage done to my car as soon as I can find a real mechanic to document the damage done and the cost to repair it.
But the thing I came to ask is this - what should I do with my car? Assuming it can even be fixed, is it worth trying? Would it even be worth selling to anyone but a junkyard?
It's the first car I ever bought, and I don't want to give up on it because Chrystina Fiero is my baby. But at the same time, I don't want to keep wasting what little free time I have on a lost cause.
Give me your thoughts, cynical and jaded Fiero hivemind.
Edit: He stole 13 of the spare lug nuts and plastic covers I had in the trunk. Why the hell do you steal 13 lug nuts?? Take all 20 or don't take any!!
[This message has been edited by BabyEating Dingo (edited 09-11-2015).]
This is a sad story but only one of many that we have seen here over the years. The guy that did this swap must be a half ass mechanic. Working a few hours a day with my son Doug, we can get a 3.4L swap done in about 3-4 days and this is working slow! May we ask what you paid for this swap? First off, the 4T60e was not the best choice for the 3.4L engine (that uses the original Fiero ECM), the cradle did not have to be replaced with an 88, the aesthetics of the swap look very unprofessional and there is no reason to break anything if proper removal procedures were employed. The 3.4L P/R swap only requires a few more easy steps to install than replacing a stock 2.8L engine and just a few additional parts.
------------------ " THE BLACK PARALYZER" -87GT 3800SC Series III engine, custom ZZP /Frozen Boost Intercooler setup, 3.4" Pulley, Northstar TB, LS1 MAF, 3" Spintech/Hedman Exhaust, Autolite 104's, MSD wires, Custom CAI, 4T65eHD w. custom axles, HP Tuners VCM Suite. "THE COLUSSUS" 87GT - ALL OUT 3.4L Turbocharged engine, Garrett Hybrid Turbo, MSD ign., modified TH125H " ON THE LOOSE WITHOUT THE JUICE "
I will be returning to SA for good in Jan. I can make the repairs you need then, if you want to wait. I can take a look at it next weekend as I will be in town for my sons B-day party. I've done a duke rebuild, 2 3.4 swaps one with a 4t60 and am currently working on a LZ9 3900/F23 for my car. You have my number give me a call.
[This message has been edited by hiwil88formula (edited 09-11-2015).]
